


It's Enough

by PixiePosts



Series: Critical Role Oneshots [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, No Spoilers, Sickfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, aggressively ignoring the cannon I don't like, but stealing cannon I do likr, just let them be soft, like seriously, set somewhere post ep119, this is just fluff, tooth rotting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28053477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixiePosts/pseuds/PixiePosts
Summary: Literally just another sickfic.Fjord being his usual Mother-Hen self and looking after our favourite squishy wizard.I just want the boys to be soft okay?  They deserve it.
Relationships: Fjord & Caleb Widogast, Fjord/Caleb Widogast, background beauyasha - Relationship
Series: Critical Role Oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2054934
Comments: 24
Kudos: 108





	It's Enough

It was somewhere around 4 in the afternoon (or, he assumed it was, it was hard to tell in Xhorhas) and Fjord was restless. Something had felt _off_ all day but he couldn’t put his finger on what.

It was frustrating.

They had only been back in the Dynasty for a day and a half, having decided that it was best they avoid the Empire for a while. After that mess with DeRogna well… they deserved a break somewhere at least a little out of their reach. Nicodranas might have been better, weather wise, but they hadn’t been back to the Dynasty in a while and it felt more solidly “non-Empire”. So, while Veth went that way to be with her family the rest of them headed for the Xhor-haus. 

Fjord tapped a rapid tattoo on the tabletop, listening to the way his filed claws clicked and trying to figure out what was bothering him so much. The team was safe, Cad was up on the tower spending time with his plants, Beau and Yasha had disappeared to “train” somewhere and Jester was painting one of the kitchen walls only a few feet away. 

And Caleb…

Huh. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen Caleb since lunch the day before. Thelyss had come by with some massive book and the wizards had taken off to the library. He was clearly still trying to find ways back into the groups good graces after the whole Beacon debacle… Buying Jester pastries and promising to come to dinner whenever she asked. Drinking the awful drinks Beau made when she tried to “host” and of course, giving Caleb more magic. The drow had left a few hours later (without the book, as far as Fjord was aware)… but no Caleb. Maybe that was what had been bugging him? But no, it wasn’t unusual for Caleb to use their rare downtime to study new spells. He had a habit of locking himself in the library and only emerging when Veth dragged him out to eat. Had he eaten today? 

Fjord stood up then, with Veth away there was no one forcing the human to eat. He made his way to the library door, pushing it open and peering in quietly. The larger room was empty, a few papers scattered on the desk and a single lamp burning low in the sconce. He frowned, that feeling of _wrong_ stirring stronger in his chest as his eyes found the door to Caleb’s room. The wizard usually worked out in the main library during the day, needing the stronger light provided by the lamps. Before he could talk himself out of it, he crossed the room and knocked lightly on the door. There was no answer… and he knew he should probably leave it alone. Caleb was probably just sleeping, getting some well-deserved rest after the difficulty of their time in Eiselcross. 

But then again…

He turned the handle and pushed lightly, the door opened without a sound and he peeked around it. The feeling of _something is wrong_ suddenly made sense. There was Caleb, sitting at the smaller desk he kept in the room, a small gas lap was stuttering next to him and casting enough light for Fjord to see just how awful the human looked. He was paler than usual but there was a sickly flush high on his cheeks, long ginger hair stuck to his forehead and usually bright blue eyes hazy. He jumped slightly as Fjord stepped up beside him, frown deepening as he reached out and placed a hand on Caleb’s forehead. 

“Cay, you’re sick”

Caleb turned slightly to look at him and a confused little frown tugged at his lips.

“ _Nein_ , I am fine, just a little bit tired”

“You need to go to _bed_ Caleb. You’re burning up, you can’t work like this”

“But- no, Fjord I need to…” he trailed off, indicating the large tome in front of him on the desk “I have to…”

Fjord fought back a grimace at how completely spaced out the other man sounded. He sighed, slid a piece of scrap paper into the crease between the pages and shut the book, ignoring Caleb’s wheezy grumbling. He pushed the book to the side and tapped Caleb’s hand to get his attention back.

“When is The Shadowhand supposed to be coming back for it?”

“ _Tonight_ , which is why I need to-“

“Nope” Fjord cut him off with an exaggerated popping at the end of the word “Jester can send him a message to ask him for more time. I’m gonna grab you some of Caddy’s tea, you sound like you’ve been swallowing glass, then you’re going to sleep”

Caleb grumbled again in response, and Fjord was sure he caught a handful of Zemnian curse words as he headed back towards the door. 

“You better be at least halfway to bed by the time I get back, or I’ll pick you up and move you myself”

He leaned back against the door once it was shut and took a deep breath. Caleb. The wizard had no domestic self-preservation skills. Sure, he could lie when necessary, and disguise himself, and fight… hell, he was even charming when the time called for it. But ask the man to feed himself or get anything close to a decent amount of sleep and it was like pulling teeth. Fjord pushed off the door, at least this was something he could help with. He may not be the most knowledgeable when it came to the arcane, but thanks to Caddy he could make a decent cup of tea. 

“Hey Jes?”

The blue tiefling smiled at him from where she was sitting cross legged on the floor of the kitchen painting what looked like an intricate pattern along the baseboard. Fjord didn’t look too closely, knowing her there were sure to be more dicks than anything else. 

“Hello Fjord! Want to help me finish this wall? I want to do _literally_ all of them while we’re here! They’ll look so good!”

“I’m no good at that stuff, you’ll do a better job of it” he smiled “I was actually wondering if you could send a message for me?”

“Ohhhh” she wiggled her eyebrows at him “who _to_ Fjord?”

“Thelyss actually”

She paused and stared at him for a moment, surprise written clearly on her face. 

“I can totally do that for you, I just, y’know, I didn’t think you _liked_ him very much right now”

He shrugged “Doesn’t really matter at the moment, he’s supposed to pick up a book from Caleb tonight”

“Okaaaaay?”

“Caleb’s under the weather, hasn’t finished the book and is hoping for more time with it, that’s all”

There was a beat of silence while she processed that, and Fjord kept his expression as calm as neutral as possible even as the heat crawled up his neck. A mischievous smirk that he knew all too well curled across her face.

“Well~” she sang “I can definitely send a message and make sure you and Caleb get the who-oole night to relax, no problem at _all_ Fjord”

He sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face, Jester and her belief that everything needed to end like a romance novel…

“Thanks Jester, I’m just going to make tea while you… do that”

“Mhmmm” she was still smirking when he turned towards the cupboard and started the water boiling “Hi Essek!! I know you’re supposed to come by and get your book but Caleb isn’t feeling well so Fjord was hoping you would just” she sighed and recast it as he poured the water into the teapot “come pick it up another day, like tomorrow maybe? Or whenever! You can still come over if you want! Just no Caleb is all!”

He set the tray with the teapot, two mugs, the jar of honey and a plate of the herb buns Caddy had made the night before. Turning to see a knowing smile still on Jester’s face as she eyed the set up.

“Essek says it’s no problem, Caleb can totally keep the book as long as he wants and he hopes he feels better really really soon! He sounded worried” she winked “you might want to look out Fee-yord, you might have like, competition”

Fjord paused for a moment then sighed, deciding it was way easier not to bother arguing with her at this point. 

“Right, thanks for sending the message Jes, I’ll see you later”

“Mhmmmm, see you in the mo~rning”

He sighed again, adjusted his grip on the tray and made his way back to the library. He pushed through into Caleb’s room and couldn’t stop the sympathetic little whine that slipped from the back of his throat. Caleb had clearly tried to get himself changed before heading for bed but had apparently run out of steam halfway through. 

The ginger was seated on the floor, legs bent to one side and his forehead pressed to the dresser. He had managed to get himself into a pair of sleep pants but one of the oversized shirts he slept in was pooled on the floor next to him. Fjord could see the slight shiver going through the other man and was forcefully reminded of just how _thin_ Caleb still was. He set the tray down on the bedside table and tutted as the hazy blue eyes found his.

“I believe I am… at least halfway”

Fjord chuckled and shook his head fondly. 

“C’mon now, up you get” He slid his arms around Caleb’s waist, pleased when freckled arms wrapped loosely around his neck “let’s get you into bed”

“Smooth talker”

“Mhmm, that’s me, can’t resist the pale and sickly, it’s my type”

“Clearly we are made for each other”

Fjord settled the other man into bed, picking up the loose shirt and holding it out questioningly as he tried to settle the blush in his cheeks. Caleb reached out and took it, tugging it over his head as Fjord unloaded the tray, and fiddled with the pillows, trying to provide as much support as possible. He tugged an extra out from under the bed and tucked it in behind Caleb as well, before tugging the warmer blanket out smoothing it over his lap. 

“Okay so-“ he looked up and felt the words die in his mouth as tired blue eyes, surrounded by bruise like circles caught his. Caleb smiled sleepily at him, reaching out a trembling hand to poke his forehead lightly. He cleared his throat.

“Okay, so ah… there’s tea, and honey ‘cause you really do sound like you’ve been swallowing nails. Caddy made those herb buns you like, I know you probably aren’t particularly hungry but it’ll do you good to have something in your stomach”

Caleb tilted his head slightly, the fever flush was bright on his cheeks giving him a nearly drunk look.

“Cay?”

“Mother hen”

“Listen here Widogast” he handed Caleb a cup of tea with honey, settling the tray on his lap “I could just leave you here y’know”

“Cluck cluck”

“You’re a brat when you’re sick” he tore a bun in half, setting in on the tray “drink your tea”

He grabbed the other mug, taking a few sips while he watched Caleb from the corner of his eye. He didn’t want the wizard to feel like he was staring, but he couldn’t help it. This instinct was one of the only parts of his Orcish heritage that he didn’t mind indulging, even if it had led to the “Mother Hen” nickname. He had been embarrassed by it initially, the inherent _need_ to look after those that his brain categorized as “his” people. But…

He turned as the teacup clicked onto the tray and watched as Caleb pulled the bread apart, taking small, controlled bites. The nickname was worth it for the warm feeling knowing they were looked after filled him with. 

They sat in comfortable silence as both finished their tea and Caleb finished off the bun. The ginger leaned back, eyes closed as Fjord took the tray and set it on the desk. He sat on the edge of the bed again, pushing the hair stuck to his forehead back and resting the back of his hand there instead. Caleb was still feverish, and Fjord frowned slightly. Humans were much more delicate than orcs and teiflings… and whatever Yasha was.

“I am going to be fine Fjord” Caleb’s voice sounded at least a little better as his lips quirked up in a small smile “I have the best care I could ask for”

Fjord hummed in response but smiled back when Caleb opened his eyes.

“Sleep, mother hens orders. Lean forward for me Cay”

Caleb leaned obediently forward, allowing Fjord to tug the pillows down and only rolling his eyes once when Fjord insisted on supporting him as he laid down. Fjord pulled the blankets up, untying the loose leather strap that was barely holding long ginger hair and setting it on the bedside table. Caleb watched through heavily lidded eyes as Fjord did all of this. Fjord brushed his fingers through the hair, trying to loosen some of the knots as that familiar warmth rolled through him. 

“Anything else I can do?”

“Do you think- well, I hate to ask, you have already done more than enough”

He smiled, knowing it was probably a little too fond. 

“Go on, you can always blame the fever later”

They had been dancing around each other long enough that Fjord was pretty certain he knew what Caleb wanted. Fevers meant nightmares, which meant…

“Stay? Just for a little while?”

“’Course I will, scoot over.”

It took a little shuffling, but soon enough Fjord was laying on his side with Caleb curled up against his chest. He rested one hand against the base of Caleb’s spine, carding the other through his hair in a way he knew soothed the wizard. Caleb’s hands were tangled loosely in Fjords shirt, and before long the sounds of wheezy breathing had slowed to a steady rhythm. Fjord smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of Caleb’s head and inhaling deeply. Under the over-warm scent of fever was the smell of old parchment, ash and ink that rang so strongly of _home_. Fjord would happily keep taking care of his squishy wizard, even if Caleb wasn’t ready for anything more just yet. The man had been through enough, he had walls that Fjord was only just beginning to understand. He would be here though, when Caleb decided to open the door. Nights like this were enough, Caleb reaching out and taking his offered help was enough. 

This was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> It's a oneshot!! This is the shortest thing I have ever posted here I think. I hope y'all enjoyed the super soft Fjord-centric fluff


End file.
